Thayr
Asuras
AtomicEmperor
Kronshi
OwO
Snowdrops
Irradiant
Sky Blue
Ivar
AudaciousHere’s what I’ve got so far - will be making the actual CS and more finished art before Friday, but just wanted to get the foundation
I’m thinking for her disguise @ERode the duke could say he can’t go anywhere without his lute/harpist who helps him sleep or something (tried to think of what position a woman would have in a duke’s retinue XD)
Looks great so far! I'm impressed you're making the artwork yourself. :)
Throwing my hat in with a character sheet! Straight out the air-fryer. I cooked. Somewhat...
A bit of a wildcard but consider her part of the duke's entourage! For now.Duchess Altina Freya Bastille, The "Valkyrie"
38 | Human, ♀ | 6'5 ft, 204 lbs
"Don't let that gentle gaze fool you. There's a devil lurking beneath those eyes."
Goal:An individualist with hedonistic tendencies, Altina makes no effort to veil her disdain towards any authority wishing to force her duchy under a system of unilateral rule. Be it for peace or for plain tyranny, she cares not for the ends that such governance would achieve. Thus, out of principle, she opposes the Wizard Queen, just as she opposed Ludwig II, despite ultimately bowing her head.<Snipped quote>
History:From a young age, Altina always felt like a bird trapped in a cage. To marry, to bear children, to serve her husband and family faithfully — the strict traditions of House Bastille kept her confined to a singular, predetermined destiny, one she believed she was powerless to rebel against. At least, at first. Altina was the first-born of Duke Alfred Sigurd Bastille. Typically, the rites of succession dictate that the first-born male would rise to the post of Duke when the time comes. However, as Altina was a woman and considered unfit to lead, she did not qualify. Thus did the status of "heir" fall to her brother, Altair Sigmund Bastille.
The battlefield was Altina's calling, and from the first time she swung a sword, she knew immediately that to master the blade was her true lot in life, something to set her apart from others. Unlike her peers, Altina possessed a strong body, and as she grew, she began to tower above even most of her suitors in height. But alas, despite all of her pleading, she was expressly forbidden from joining the military, with her father insisting it was not appropriate for a lady of House Bastille to sully her hands with calluses.
"And so, Altina resigned herself to the whims of her father, locking away her innermost desires, practicing etiquette, and patiently waiting for the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life."
If Altina were so spineless, then perhaps the strings hanging taut upon her limbs would have never been cut. And perhaps the future that her father had designed for her would have come true. It would have been easy to simply perform her part; to recite lines timeless and traditional. Easy. And boring. Therefore, behind her father's back, underneath the clandestine glow of moonlight, she studied the art of swordsmanship, modeling her stance and each of her strikes after her younger brother, who she could observe every morning swinging his blade from her bedroom window.
Although no amount of pleading could change his mind, the Duke did not reject every request Altina threw his way. One request he did honor, and to Altina's mild surprise, was her enrollment into a magical academy. With practiced words, Altina convinced her father that magic would serve as a means for her to protect herself. Of course, realizing her father's protective nature, she knew he would seriously consider it. Eventually, he relented, and she was off on a carriage to the most prestigious magical academy in all of the Arrowfell Province. There, she would become a proficient user of levitation and earth magic.
An exploration of the world at large further assured Altina of her views: that she was missing out; that she was truly akin to a bird in a cage. The cage would only begin to show cracks following the untimely death of her older brother. "An expedition gone awry," she heard from the rumors. Working up the courage to ask her father, she ultimately discovered that Altair had perished fighting a fearsome monster that had been terrorizing their lands for some time. She had never seen her father in such a state before: so broken; so vulnerable. But instead of sympathy, Altina felt a different emotion welling up in her chest, one born from a warped sense of morality. Chink. The next morning, the Duke was found dead in his chambers, a teacup on his bedside table, along with berries as black as obsidian. To most, it was unmistakable what had taken place. "Stricken with grief over the death of his first-born son, the duke killed himself, unable to cope with the loss."
Altina was quick to fill the power vacuum left by her father, though it was certainly not without its trials. Now able to freely join the military, she rose the ranks with breakneck pace, establishing rapport with the people through leading various excursions against the monsters that lay outside Agrovia's walls. In particular, she felled the very monster that even her late brother, in all of his ability, could not fell. With that, she had proven her worth in the eyes of Agrovian people. A woman they saw not, but a protector, strong and capable. Still, there would be factions within Agrovia that would resist her claim to the duchy. Some acted out in the open, waging outright war against her, while others took to the cover of night to assassinate her. None of them would succeed. Altina would stamp out each faction herself, one by one, playing the role of judge, jury, and executioner.
At the end of it all, a crown would make its home atop her head.
Seed:The Convictus Lavalliere.<Snipped quote>A fanciful necklace upon which dangles a shimmering diamond. It protects the bearer from all mental-based magic. It also nullifies any magic that attempts to take control of its bearer, or otherwise compromise their agency.
Magic:
Altina presides over the duchy of Agrovia, known for its bountiful farmlands, horticultural goods, and imposing walls. Though, the latter part was not always so. Situated to the north, ever since its inception, Agrovia has been plagued time and again by beasts of the forest. At first, escape was the only means of "defense" for the fledgling city, if one could call it that. Perhaps "preservation" would be the more apt term. Regardless, fearing for their lives, the denizens of the agricultural city began to build catacombs hidden deep in the earth, to which they would retreat during monster attacks. These catacombs would prove effective in keeping the people safe, but up above, one could not say the same for their crops. Untended to and therefore left unprotected, they were all but trampled afoot by the rampaging monsters. "Such a way of life is not sustainable." This would soon dawn on the Agrovian people. Realizing their plight, the early leaders of Agrovia started to form alliances with the nearby cities, the most notable of which was with Rockhold. A union that has endured for generations, the partnership between Agrovia and Rockhold was one where both cities stood to gain: the people of Rockhold would be hard-pressed to ever go hungry, while the people of Agrovia now possessed weapons with which they could beat back their adversaries.
Owing much to the city of Rockhold, Agrovia benefited greatly from their exports of silver and iron. For the first time, the people of Agrovia no longer cowered in their caves during monster attacks. Instead, they fought. And fight tooth and nail they did, even retaking land that the monsters had occupied for so long in the process. To keep out the monsters for good, the Agrovian people also erected sweeping walls around their city, which are collectively called the "Bastille," a name in honor of the ruling family.
Hello! Very impressive CS! I like the connection with Rockhold going on. Would you be willing to point out where on the map you would like your city? Or I can approximate it.
I don't have any issue with your spells, as long as they use life-energy/mana accordingly. Please feel free to drop them over at the Character Tab. :)
